Using the Internet: A Beginner’s Guide

It seems that everyone is online and "surfing the net"…well, not really, everyone is not online but many people are. Increasingly, psychologists are going to the internet ("net" for short) to find information and resources to help with their work. Likewise, parents are going to the net to get information that they don’t always get from school. And not surprisingly, children are more proficient on the net than many adults!

For many educators, the internet is a still foreign territory, but it needn’t be! If you dare to get "online", you too might be amazed by the vast amount of information that you can have easy access to. The following is a set of Questions & Answers to help get your started on this electronic adventure (some information edited from "The Internet for Dummies" by Levine, Young, Reinhold).

I know, in order for you to be reading this, you must know something about getting online, or maybe someone helped you to get here, and maybe you just want to know more about this whole process. Perfect, you’re at the right place! The intent here is simply to provide some basic information to get your started. As you explore the net, you will develop more skills and confidence to continue your adventure.

By the way, if you happen to think of other basic questions that might be helpful to other novices to the net, please let me know and I will get the answer and post it here, ok? Have fun!

Brian P. Leung, Ph.D.

CASP Web Specialist

310-338-7313, bleung@lmu.edu

The Internet is an electronic network that was first created by the U.S. government for military use; and later, it was funded by the National Science foundation for research linkages, and then it was made available to the public. In the last ten years, with the increasing power of personal computers, the net has exploded into its current main stay in how people see and use information. Commercial sources are the main support for the internet nowadays.

This worldwide network connects various organizations or entities operated by governments, businesses and individuals. Locations of all entities are called "Web Sites" – sites on a web of connected networks throughout the world. Currently, there are thousands and thousands of web sites located on the internet, and more are added daily.

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a collection of websites that are user-friendly (easy to

navigate) and can help people locate a whole host of information on just about ANY topic

imaginable and services for just about ANYTHING as well.

Mostly, what you find on the net is information, which is sometimes presented as simply text (e.g. on government web sites) or in combination of text and pictures. But with the increasing presence of the public on the net, many businesses have put their services online as well. Nowadays, you can find virtually anything and everything on the Internet. Here are a few common examples:

* Research * Maps/Driving directions/Yellow Pages

* Financial/Stock Information * Government information (e.g. speeding laws)

* Weather (local or overseas) * Movie times/dates/places

* Discussions with people online * News (local, state, national, international)

* Pornography (yes, I’m afraid so)

* Buy and Sell stocks * Auction – buying and selling stuff

* Shopping (clothes, grocery, electronics) * Taking classes

* Meet new people * Complete an application

These are just a few of the common types of sites on the net. As you see from the above list, there are many sites that serve useful and helpful purposes, as well as some that serves negative and damaging purposes. Because there is no one overseeing the net, virtually anyone can put up a web site about anything!

First, you will need to get on the net…

Here is what you will need to get started: A (1) computer with (2) a modem connected to a phone line with (3) some software programs. There are primarily two options for getting the Internet, including email, at your personal residence.

Many school districts are wiring their schools to the Internet, so students can access information during school hours to enhance their learning. So, you might be able to get online for free…through the district’s ISP. But of course, this will only be during school hours and you won’t be able to surf the web and check out scenic places in Hawaii, for instance.

Once you’re on the Internet…

You find these places by typing in the "address" of the web site or searching for the address.

The address is the code that directs your computer to a specific website. It begins with an "http" (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and is followed by WWW (indicating you are searching on the world wide web) and ends with a ".com," ".net," ".gov," or ".org" usually (stands for community, network, government, and organization respectively).

A sample address is http://www.casponline.org. If you type this address into the long box at the top of a web page, you computer will reach the CASP website where you are now. The address bar is at the top of the web page and looks similar to this:

URL (Universal Resource Locator) is the technical name for the address of a website.

To find the address of a specific web site (e.g. web site for Loyola Marymount University), or if you simply want to know which web sites have the information or service of interest to you (e.g. who might sell pianos), you can search for their addresses by using a "search engine".

A search engine will gather and list a number of specific and related websites based on your inquiry. The homepage of a search engine will provide a box where you can type in keywords that you are interested in looking up information on. An example of the steps to take when using a search engine follows:

• Type in the term "loyola marymount university" or "piano" in the search box.
• The search engine will return results of websites that are related in some way or another to these two terms.
• You will see a page of websites, with a brief description of each site.
• You pick the ones that match your interest by clicking your mouse on it.

1. Examples of search engines: Yahoo

• Altavista Excite

• MSN AOL
• Google Direct Hit

An icon is a small graphic that acts as a short cut telling the computer to do something. Icons are typically located near the top of your computer screen. When surfing the net, the useful icons are located at the top of the screen directly under the menu bar (where file, edit, view, etc. are located). This is a sample of a tool bar:

1. Back

The Back icon is an arrow facing to the left. When clicked by your mouse, the browser will automatically jump back to the last page you were just visiting.



2. Forward

The Forward icon is an arrow facing to the right. When clicked by your mouse, the browser will automatically jump forward to the page you were just visiting.



3. Home

The Home icon on your browser is a house. When clicked by your mouse, the browser will automatically jump to your homepage, or the page that is displayed every time you first open your browser.



4. Search

The Search icon is a small globe with a magnifying glass. When clicked by your mouse, the browser will automatically open a search box on the left side of the screen so you can type in key words and search the Internet (similar to the search engines described above).



5. Print

1. Phrases that are in color and underlined (links)

Phrases that are in color (usually blue) and underlined want to draw your attention to those items. When you put your mouse on these words, you will notice that your "arrow" changes to an "index finger" . Whenever you see the "index finger", it means that those words are actually a link to another page or web site. Clicking on these blue underlined words will lead you to open another page or site.

2. Links

Most web sites have links to other pages on their sites or to entirely different web sites. Usually, links to other sites will have additional information on similar topics.

3. When in doubt "contact us" option or "help" option

There are 2 ways to print:

1. Print icon

The fastest way to print a document from the Internet is by clicking the "print" icon at the top of the page. That will print the page you are looking at.

You have two choices.

• Choose "file" from the menu at the top of your browser
• Click "print" to print the page

• Click the right button on your mouse
• Select "print" from the pop up menu.

Downloading refers to actually getting information (usually a document or program) from another site and literally copying it to your personal computer. To do so:

• Look on the page and click where it says "download now."
• A small screen will open that will ask you to either "save to disk" or "open the file"
• If you choose "save to disk," you will be prompted to name the file you are downloading and designate where you would like to save the file (in your My Documents folder for instance). Once you designate where, the document will download and save, allowing you to open the file on your computer later.
• If you choose "open the file," the file will begin downloading and you will be able to view the document immediately but it will not have been saved to your computer until you tell it to do so.

Say you want to download the "Guns in Schools" hot sheet from the CASP web site:

• Put your mouse on "Publications", then "Hot Sheets".
• On the CASP Hot Sheets page, click on "Guns in Schools".
• A box will ask you if you have Acrobat Reader on your computer. This is a software program that allows you to read the hot sheet. If you don’t have this program, you can download it FREE by clicking on the Acrobat Reader logo and follow the directions given (similar to the steps outlined above). If you have Acrobat Reader on your computer, the download will commence.
• When the download is complete (time depends on the speed of your ISP), the hot sheet will appear on your computer screen. If you want to print out a copy, click on the print icon . If you want to save it to a disk so you can take it to work to print, click on the disk icon

If you do not remember where you saved the document, you have two options.

• Go to the Start menu
• Click "Search" for files or folders
• Enter a keyword related to your document
• Search for the document

If you do not remember the name of the file, download it again to see where the file is being saved automatically. Your file was most likely saved in the "Temp" folder if you did not specify another folder. You can get to this folder by:

• Open "my computer"
• Click on the "C:" drive
• Go to "windows" or "winnt."
• Click on the "Temp" folder and look for the document.

Well, that’s a good start. The best way to learn all of this stuff, like most other procedural skills, is to try it out….trial and error. Getting online and practice searching for different things -- e.g. for work, find State requirements for the SAT-9; for fun, find pictures of the London bridge. The more you surf, the more comfortable you will be.

If you want to read more, a good book to review is "The Internet for Dummies" (2^nd Ed.) by J. Levine, M. Levine Young, and A. Reinhold. This easy to read paperback is available at any popular bookstore…check it out!

Special thanks to my TA, Katie Schlageter, for the first draft of this document.